Now you can use Bitcoin to buy stuff on Amazon, thanks to this Seattle startup

Seattle-based bitcoin payment platform iPayYou this week announced a new feature called “Amazon Direct” that lets consumers transfer any dollar amount of bitcoin to use for purchases on Amazon.

“This is the only direct way to purchase on Amazon with bitcoin today,” said iPayYou CEO Gene Kavner. “iPayYou.io also sells gift cards to many merchants, which includes Amazon, that may be purchased with bitcoin as well. Gift cards have advantages that they may be sent to friends/family but they are not a straightforward path for purchasing at Amazon as iPayYou’s Amazon Direct.”

Here’s a how-to video that shows the integration:

Before launching iPayYou last year, Kavner was previously the worldwide director of the Amazon Associates program and principal architect for display advertising at Microsoft.

He started iPayYou to help make it easy to store bitcoin and use it to pay for products. The software also lets you send and receive bitcoin with friends, who don’t need a bitcoin wallet themselves. In July, the company rolled out a new service that allows anyone with a Twitter account to send and receive bitcoin payments, without providing any private information.

iPayYou employs five people in Seattle and has raised investment from Roger Ver, a Bitcoin Foundation member and early Bitcoin evangelist.

Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest.